In early August, Microsoft made a change to the operating policy of the standard Windows antivirus. A stricter algorithm for blocking unwanted applications now prevents the download and launch of programs that the system considers questionable. Among other things, popular solutions for working with torrent files were also “under distribution”.
The function of blocking potentially unwanted applications was introduced back in 2018, but then it had to be activated manually using the system PowerShell tool. However, a recent patch enables it in the default Windows Defender settings.]
You can check the status of the function in the Windows security settings menu (section “Protection based on reputation”). Two switches of the same name are responsible for automatically blocking dubious downloads and installing potentially unwanted software.
The list of applications that Microsoft considers potentially unsafe includes some P2P file sharing programs, some mining-related software, and advertising and marketing applications that collect and transmit information about user preferences.